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Film: Connected
Release date: 20th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 110 mins
Director: Benny Chan
Starring: Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu, Nick Cheung, Ye Liu, Fan Siu-Wong
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD
Country: China/Hong Kong
Connected is the latest film from Director Benny Chan - and evidence that, while the American’s may enjoy cherry picking the finest Asian movies for remake, it’s not all one way traffic.
Bob’s simply isn‘t happy with his life. He’s an amicable, friendly sort, trapped in the decidedly unfriendly occupation of debt collector. He’s also a single father whose sister is immigrating to Australia with his son, thinking him unfit.
Faced with immense pressure to be a better dad, a better brother, a better worker and an all round better person, Bob’s life seems empty and purposeless. That is until his phone rings unexpectedly. On the line is a woman, Grace, who claims that she and her daughter are the victims of a kidnapping. Is it a poor practical joke, or is Bob genuinely her only lifeline?
With the police quickly dismissing the claims as a joke in bad taste, Bob’s instincts tell him otherwise. He realises he may just be the only one who can prevent the victims suffering a painful and undeserved death. The question is, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the problems he already faces, will Bob put his own welfare aside and risk everything, including his son, for two people who may not even exist...
Connected is a rare beast indeed. One of the tiny minority of remakes that are better than the original source material on which they’re based. That being said, the American original - Cellular - was no masterpiece. It was a mildly diverting show with an interesting, original central idea - two strangers linked only by a phone call which, for one, presents a disturbing distraction from life, and, for the other, a last chance at survival.
Benny Chan’s has airlifted the concept and transported it to the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong. The change of location is only the beginning as Chan also opts to change the central characters, as well as trying to provide a more realistic story arc. In Connected, Cellular’s Ryan (a beach bum slacker type) is replaced by Bob (played by Louis Koo), who, to all intents and purposes, comes across as your average working adult.
Bob’s employment as a debt collector serves as an easily accessible insight into the world he inhabits. In one early scene, smartly dressed in his shirt and tie, we see Bob watching as a gang of hired thugs threaten a mother and her two young children over an unpaid family debt. As he helplessly clutches his briefcase while his ‘colleagues’ proceed, it is obvious that here is a man with a conscience - a man who is ill suited not only to his job, but to the world he lives in.
As mentioned, he is also a single father, and Bob is struggling to do right by his son almost as badly as he is in his own life. The day Bob gets the phone call from Grace Wong, claiming that she has been kidnapped and needs his help desperately, is the same day his son is due to move to Australia and disappear from his life altogether. The central character’s readiness to ignore his own problems and set out to be a hero was definitely one of the major weaknesses of Cellular. But Benny Chan, who also co-wrote this adaptation, has obviously considered this in his version. Why would anyone believe this stranger and risk his own life to save her? Chan answers this question: skilfully setting Bob up early on as the sort of person who couldn’t ignore Grace, while, at the same time, showing us a chain of events that explain why he’d reject the notion that she’s an impostor.
Connected also represents a slight change of pace for a director whose name is synonymous with big-budget action movies. For one thing, there are fewer action set-pieces here than in the likes of New Police Story. Well aware that Bob is not an action hero, Chan instead opts to crank up the tension, as well as adding some fairly dark humour, as time ticks away for both Grace and Bob.
Mr. Chan has also toned down the emotional histrionics which were arguably the most cringe worthy aspects of more recent movies like Robin B. Hood. While the single father aspect of Bob’s life is inevitably touched on, it is never excessively mined, so, for precisely this reason, it is all the more affecting.
Most of the credit for this audience engagement must go to charismatic star Louis Koo. He turns in a fine performance as the ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary situation that calls on every ounce of his courageous instincts. The knowledge that Koo performed many of his own stunts lends his portrayal of Bob an even greater level of credibility and honesty.
Connected is probably the first major Chinese remake of a Hollywood movie. As such, it ticks all the boxes a remake should. While fairly faithful to the source, it recognises and addresses the weaknesses the original displayed. While some would say it’s no great achievement to improve Cellular, Connected is an engaging and enjoyable thriller that does just that. Besides, isn’t it refreshing to learn that the Asia to Hollywood gravy train makes the occasional return trip? PD
Film: Invisible Target
Release date: 2nd August 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 128 mins
Director: Benny Chan
Starring: Nicholas Tse, Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, Jacky Wu, Lisa Lu
Genre: Crime/Action
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Hong Kong/China
Director Benny Chang’s fast paced crime thriller follows three Hong Kong cops relentlessly pursuing a ruthless gang of highly skilled crooks and murderers.
Police officers Chan Chun, Wai King Ho and Fong Yik Wei are three Hong Kong police officers who find themselves working together, embroiled in a cat and mouse chase in an attempt to capture a gang of four mercenaries who are wanted for a string of crimes.
The three cops also eventually find that they each have personal vendettas against the gang, which adds to the film’s close connection and interaction with the audience. Chan Chun’s fiancée was inadvertently killed in the armed robbery which opens the film; Fong Yik Wei and his patrol unit are ambushed and attacked by the group; while Wai King Ho finds his brother was secretly working undercover with the gang and has since disappeared.
As the trio search deeper into the facts surrounding the case, and uncover the group’s seemingly unending pursuit of vengeance against a secret informer, they not only unearth the true wrath of the gangsters, but also discover that one of the key players within the syndicate could well turn out to be one of their own colleagues…
Invisible Target literally opens with a bang. The explosion caused by the armed robbery which kills Chan Chun’s girlfriend at the beginning of the film also signals the beginning of two hours of fast paced, high-end choreography and slick fight scenes. Apparently Benny Chang demands of his actors that they do not use stunt doubles, and so throughout the film all the skilled brawls and horrendous heights from which the characters plunge themselves are undertaken by the actors themselves. There never seems to be a dull moment during the film, and after around half an hour, we find ourselves expecting a death defying stunt or a supremely organised ambush to appear from nowhere.
As well as this, the film tends to linger on a sub text which explores the nature of social Darwinism and the blurred lines between good and evil. This is not to suggest that the film is in any way high brow or worthy of being the subject of anyone’s thesis, but there is enough philosophising and thought provoking dialogue to keep interested anyone used to the Western interpretation of the crime/thriller genre. Should one be prepared to kill in order to survive? Do police officers have any more right to kill than criminals? The questions asked by the film are by no means original, but the fact that it does ask questions (along with the absence of any emphasis or reliance on scantily clad women or the latest car we are all suppose to rush out and buy) means it does have a lot more to offer than the standard offerings in this genre.
There is certainly more to be taken from the film than your usual patronising and misogynist Jason Statham or Vin Diesel flick, but, at times, the heavy censorship placed on Chinese films (especially those concerning the honour of police officers) can get a little tiring. The characters rarely make morally ill judged moves, and Wai King Ho can appear too straight and narrow to convincingly stand up to a gang as horrifically ruthless as the film’s villains. The other two cops, while still always ethically in the right, at least have a bit of edge to make their perseverance throughout the film believable.
However, the most thrilling and absorbing aspect of the film has to be the fight and chase scenes. It seems like they almost tire the audience out more than the characters, as they often just keep going and going with all the prowess of a Duracell bunny with a robotic heart. These scenes also make up the majority of the film’s aesthetic, as well as very cleverly being used as a means of characterisation and plot development. Indeed, the manner in which the three cops fight and pursue their victims is often as revealing as it is thrilling. There is also a nice directorial touch which appears every now and then, whereby specific and interesting movements are repeated from various angles.
More entertaining and absorbing than you might expect, it’s not often that action films which are over two hours long can hold the audience’s attention for the duration, but in this case the film rarely retreats from the explosive opening scene. Perhaps it dwells for too long on the inherent good nature of the police officers, and there are no strong female characters worth noting. However, if it’s violence, explosions and a possibly interpretive subtext you’re after, this is a film you are more than likely going to enjoy.
Guns, martial arts, explosions, stunts and a pinch of philosophy: Invisible Target is a film almost as thought provoking as it is entertaining. IT
Film: Robin-B-Hood
Release date: 24th May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 134 mins
Director: Benny Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Michael Hui, Louis Koo, Matthew Medvedev
Genre: Action/Comedy
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Hong Kong
The glory days of Police Story and Armour Of God are now long, with an aging Jackie Chan reigning in the insane stunts and breakneck action in recent years for more endearing comic bumbling. With the addition of a baby, the softening process is complete.
Jackie plays Thongs, who is one third of a trio of cat burglars, together with Octopus (Louis Koo) and their leader, Landlord (Michael Hui). These three erstwhile amigos regularly work together to ‘liberate’ valuable items from more wealthy citizens. The items in question range from priceless jewellery to gourmet shark fin.
As the head of the crew, Landlord has taught Thongs and Octopus that there is still honour among thieves. They may rob, but don’t cross the line - they don't rape, murder, or kidnap. However, when his retirement fund goes missing, Landlord willingly takes on a job that involves the kidnapping of a baby boy (Matthew Medvedev). Knowing that Octopus and Thongs would never agree to it, he keeps them in the dark, and by the time they realise what‘s happened, the baby is in their bag and they're already mid-getaway.
As the hand-off goes wrong, Landlord crashes the getaway van and ends up in jail, while Thongs and Octopus manage to escape with the baby in tow. When Landlord checks in from his cell, they learn that the child is the offspring of a ridiculously rich tycoon and rather than an expected $7 million payday, they could stand to pick up much more…
Landlord needs to get out of jail first though, which could take a while, so Thongs and Octopus are left holding the baby. Not surprisingly, this is a struggle. Thongs is deep in debt, with a gambling addiction - and a man who allows his family to be harassed by loan sharks. Meanwhile, Octopus passes his time trying to seduce rich young women in the hopes of getting his hands on some family jewels and trying to convince his pregnant wife to have an abortion. Not obvious choices for babysitters. Once they take on responsibility for the baby though, the emasculating scenarios and poopy gags come thick and fast – and the two are forced to rethink their selfish approaches. When the baby can't stop crying they enlist the aid of a young nurse (Gao Yuanyuan), who teaches them good parenthood. In the space of a five-minute montage, Thongs and Octopus go from unwilling nannies to fully-fledged parents.
While the film received some extra press in the West due to Jackie Chan playing a ‘baddie’, it’s really not the case. Jackie Chan’s amazingly amiable screen presence, coupled with the run of the mill nature of the storyline, ensures that we never see him as anything other than a good guy or, at worst, a good guy in waiting.
The film follows a very common blueprint, a bunch of selfish masculine types go gooey eyed after spending some time holding a baby. The script is unoriginal, and hits us with cliché after cliché to wring the expected tears and laughs from an obviously family-filled target audience. Yes, it’s predictable, and, yes, it’s obvious - but it’s fun. We laugh, we cry, we learn lessons, and we grow with the characters. Chan first appears robbing a hospital, but the film hinges on his sacrifice to save a helpless child. Octopus relents in his desire for his wife to abort their unborn child. Lesson learned? Check. Conscience developed? Check.
We shouldn’t expect the action scenes to be vintage Jackie Chan, but they are still tightly choreographed, enjoyable and well executed. Robin-B-Hood may be unoriginal stuff, but it hits its marks well - and does what it should with commercially rewarding efficiency. Benny Chan directs the film and ticks all the boxes smartly, mixing the jokes, the "goo goo" baby scenes, and Jackie Chan's trademark creative action into a decently entertaining package.
Finally some mention must go to the film’s real star, Matthew Medvedev, who has so much charisma. Considering the scrapes he gets into – including, but not limited to, being put into washing machines and being dangled from the window of an apartment building - it's helpful that the young boy the filmmakers cast is just so engaging. When the baby cries after being separated from kidnappers/foster parents, it's hard not to feel a bit of a wrench. It's crass manipulation on the filmmakers' part, but, thanks to little Matthew, it works.
It’s obvious, it’s manipulative, it affords Jackie Chan a well-earned rest after years of acrobatic adventures, but it’s fun for all the family. PD
